Battery grid



H. C. WINKEL Dec. 9, 1952 BATTERY GRID 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original FiledJune 24, 1946 CC. 9, 1952 c, WINKEL 2,621,219

BATTERY GRID Original Filed June 24, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec. 9, 1952H c, WINK 2,621,219

BATTERY GRID Original Filed June 24, 194.6 5 Sheets-Sheet I5 PatentedDec. 9, 1952 UNITED "STATES ATENT OFFICE.

Original application 678,770. Divided an Myinvention relates tobatterygrids.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No.678,770, filedJune'24. 1946.

One of the objectsof-my invention isto provide an improved batterygrid'having locating lugs-on its advance edge for-engagement'withholding and positioning devices on a grid trimming apparatus.

'Further objects and'advantages of the invention will be apparent from'the description'and claims. I

In the drawings, in which'an embodiment *of my invention is shown,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of'a battery grid molding and trimmingmachineembodying my invention; v

'Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a part sectional, part elevational view of a pump for themolten metal; 7

' Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the construction of Fig. 3;

} Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the drip catching apparatus; and

Fig. 6 is a plan view-ofan untrimmedbattery grid.

Referring'to the drawings in detail, the battery grid molding andtrimming machine shown comprises a grid-molding apparatus l,"including apairof relatively reciprocable-molds 2 and 3 separable along asubstantially vertical plane, an arcuate slide 4 on which the grid fallswhen the molds'are opened, curved to direct the grid from its verticalposition to a substantially horizontal position, a horizontal endlessconveyor 5 to which the'grid 6is delivered from the curved slide 4, agrid" edge trimmer 7 adjacent the'delivery end of the conveyor 5 towhich the conveyor delivers the grid, and a horizontal endlessconveyor 8to which the trimmer 1 delivers the grid.

The trimmer 1 comprises a pair of stationary trimming edges 9 and [0,one for the front and one for the rear edge of the grid, and a pair ofreciprocating shearing blades H and 12 mounted on'a reciprocable headl3, the movable blades 1 l and l2 co-operating with the stationaryblades Qand [0, respectively. The trimmer has a gridsupporting face l4inclined downwardly and away from the-delivery end of the endlessconveyor 5, along which face the grid slides to'trimming position.

The grids are fed to the trimmer in timed relation with respect to theoperation of the trimmer by a grid stop plate I5 mounted on leader pins-15* caused to reciprocate in timed relation to the-trimmer head l3.When-the stopiplate June 24, 1946, SerialNo.

d this application August 1, 1950, Serial No."177,110

2 Claims.- (Cl.136- -36) is in stop position, it will be-engag'ed' bythe lugs Iii cast on the front 'edge Qf'the grid being-Ted forwardly bymeansof the endlessconveyor li. This 'will hold the grid against iurthermovement, the conveyor simply sliding'underneath the grid. The stopplate will 'be held instop position during a substantial portion of thetrimming movement'of the trimmer head. Wh'en the trimmer-headisapproaching its upper position the hooks l 6 on the trimmer head willengageunderneath the stop'plate l5 and lift 'it out 'of 'its obstructingposition so that the conveyor- 5 can feed the grid forwardly to aposition-in which-'it'will be delivered and slide onto the inclined gridsupporting face a I 4 of the trimmer 1.

For stopping the gridin' correct trimmingpositionan oscillatable -stop"bar' I! is "provided which, in grid-locating position, isengaged' bythe pair of forwardly-extending lugs" -l'5 -whlch=are cast on the grid.These lugs are at opposite sides of thegrid'casting, thusaffordingwidely spaced supports for the gridwhile being trimmed.

' As soon 'as the trimmer head has trimmed the edges of the plate andthe -'reciprocable shearing blades ll' and i2 have lifted clearof the'-s'tationary shearing blades Sand 10, the furtherfilpward movement ofthe trimmer head will lift the pivoted retaining bar I! and-allow the"trimmed grid 6 to fall down onto the guide I8 leadingto the endlessconveyor 8. This endless conveyor 8 is driven" at such a rate that 'wwmadvance about one inch for each plate'ftrimmed anddelivered to it. Thiswill'cause the plates to be arranged in-a shingle 'formation'on'theendless conveyor 8. This shingle-like arrangement""facilitates the laterhandling of the grids-as they can be pushed together by taking holdof-two widely separated grid castings with two'hands and moving themtogether to cause thep'lates-"to slide into a stacked formation.

In order to deliver measuredquantities "of molten metal periodically tothe overflow .rec'eptacle IQ for the molten metal, a piston and cylinderpump '29 is provided, driven in timed relation to the opening andclosing of the. grid mold 3 so as to deliver the-molten material to thereceptacle mat atime when the grid mold 3 closed. As will be describedlater, the receptacle is left almost full of molten metal aftereach-discharge stroke of the piston 2|. On the'next' discharge stroke ofthe piston 2|,fthe molten metal will be delivered to the receptacle l9and will soon flow over the weir 22 into the flaring entrance '23 to themold cavity.

' In order to prevent accidental-slapping over of the receptacle whenthe grid mold is open, means are provided for withdrawing a smallportion of the molten metal from the receptacle during the first part ofthe charging stroke of the piston 2|. For this purpose, the actuatinglever 24 for the piston 2| is provided with a laterally extending arm 25which engages a collar 26 secured to the discharge valve stem 21 whichwill prevent the discharge valve 28 from closing against its seat untilthe piston 2| has moved upwardly on its charging stroke sufficiently tolift the laterally extending arm 25 clear of the valve stem collar 26.During this charging stroke of the piston, some of the molten metal inthe overflow receptacle l9 will be drawn back into the cylinder 29through the discharge port 30. The apparatus may be so designed andadjusted that the discharge valve 28 will remain open to enable just thedesired amount of molten metal to be withdrawn from the overflowreceptacle l9.

The communication between the overflow receptacle l9 and the dischargevalve port 30 is through the pipe 3| leading from the bottom of theoverflow receptacle to the chamber 32 underneath the discharge valveport 30. Molten metal is supplied to the chamber 33 above the inletvalve from any suitable source, from whence it flows through the inletvalve port 34 into the cylinder 29 when the inlet valve 35 opens.Suitable valve closing springs 36 are provided secured to the upper endsof the valve stems 21 and 31. The high specific gravity of the moltenlead also aids in closing the valves.

In order to catch any drip from the overflow weir 22 at a time when thegrid molds 2 and 3 are separated, a drip catcher 38 is providedpivotally mounted at 39 and operated in timed relation to the movementof the grid mold 3 so that when the grid mold is closed and the pumppiston 2| is about to start on its discharge stroke, the drip catcher 38will be moved to the dottedline position shown, in which it will be outof the way of flow of molten metal over the discharge weir 22. Justbefore the grid mold begins to separate, the drip catcher 38 will bemoved to the full-line position in which it will prevent any moltenmetal which may slop over the weir 22 from falling down over the face ofthe open grid mold 2.

Operating transmissions.The opening and closing of the mold sections 2and 3, the opening and closing of the drip catcher 38, the operation ofthe pump 20, horizontal conveyor 5, trimmer 1, and discharge conveyor 8are all effected from a motor-driven shaft 40, rotatable in thedirection of the arrow A in Fig. 2.

The movable mold section 3 is reciprocably mounted on a pair of leaderpins 4| extending forwardly from the fixed mold section 2. Thetransmission from the drive shaft 43 to the movable m'old section 3comprises a cam member 4| secured to rotate with the drive shaft 40, arock lever 42 secured to a rock shaft 43 and having a follower 44 at theend of its downwardly extending arm for engaging the cam 4| and having alost motion pivotal connection at the upper end of the upwardlyextending arm 45 with a connecting rod 46 secured to the crosshead 41from which a yoke-shaped operating bar 48 extends into engagement withthe notches 49 on the posts 56 secured to the movable mold section. Thepivotal and sliding engagement of the upper end of the rock arm 45 withthe connecting rod 46 is effected by means of a trunnion block 5|slidably mounted on the connecting rod 46 and having its trunnions 52journalled in the forked end of the rock arm 45. The connecting rod isprovided with a shoulder at 53 to limit the sliding movement of thetrunnion block 5| on the connecting rod 46. In order to provide somecapability for lost motion of the trunnion block on the connecting rod.a coil compression spring 54 is provided surrounding the connecting rodhaving one end bearing on the trunnion block and the other end bearingon a washer 55 secured to the connecting rod. This lost motion isnecessary to enable the desired movement of the drip catcher asdescribed hereinafter.

The transmission from the rotatable shaft 40 to the drip catcher 38comprises a rock arm 56 secured to rotate with the cam-controlled rockshaft 43, and a connecting rod 51 having a lost motion connection withthe upper end of this rock arm and having a pivotal connection 58 at itsother end with the rockable drip catcher.

As the cam 4| rotates in the direction of the arrow A from a position inwhich the low portion of the cam is in engagement with the follower 41to a position in which the high point of the cam is in engagement withthe follower, the rock shaft 43 will be rocked clockwise, as seen inFig. 2, to close the mold. During this closing movement of the mold, theupper end of the rock arm will move from the full-line position shown tothe dotted-line position shown in Fig. 5, at which time it is inengagement with the collar 59 on the drip catcher connectin rod 51. Thefinal cam-controlled movement of the rock shaft 43 after the mold cavityhas been closed will compress the lost motion spring 54 and move thedrip catcher connecting rod 51 to the right, as seen in Fig. 2, to movethe drip catcher 38 out of the way of the flow over the discharge weir22.

This final movement will also bring the pump cam 60 to a position whereit will cause the discharge stroke of the pump, forcin molten metal intothe receptacle l9 and causing the receptacle to overflow the weir 22 anddeliver molten metal to the flaring entrance 23 to the mold cavity in asufiioient amount to fill the cavity. As the pump-controlling cam 60moves to a position in which the pump 20 begins its charging stroke, arelatively small amount of molten metal will be withdrawn from thereceptacle |9 back into the on the mold is moved The transmission fromthe rotatable drive shaft 40 to the pump piston rod 6| comprises the cam60 secured to rotate with the shaft, a bell crank lever 6| & having afollower 62 on its downwardly extending arm controlled by the cam 60, aconnectmg rod 63 pivotally connected at 64 with the other arm of thebell crank lever 6| and the rock lever 24 pivotally mounted at 65 andhaving one end secured at 66 to the upper end of the connecting rod 63and its other end secured to the upper end of the pump piston rod 6|.The discharge stroke and charging stroke of the pump are effected duringa relatively small angular movement of the rotatable shaft by means ofthe secured so as to extend beyond the portion 6'! of the cam. Theentire discharge and charging movement of the pump are effected from thetime the cam plate 60 first engages the follower at 68 to the time atwhich the cam plate disengages the follower at 69.

The reciprocable shearing head I3 is mounted on a pair of leader pins 10extending upwardly from the base of the shearing apparatus. Thereciprocable movement of the shearing head from the rotatable shaft 49is effected by means of a sprocket H secured to the rotatable shaft 48,a sprocket chain 12 running over this sprocket H, a sprocket 13 securedto rotate with the crankshaft !4, a crank arm 15 secured to rotate withthis crankshaft I4, and a connecting rod 16 pivotally secured at 11 tothe crank arm and pivotally connected at 18 with the crosshead orshearing head l3. A similar crank arm and connecting rod (not shown) maybe provided at the other end of the crosshead.

The horizontal feed conveyor 6 is supported on pairs of spaced sprockets19 and 88. The sprocket 88 is secured to rotate with the shaft 8|. Thissprocket 8| is driven from the shaft 14 by means of a sprocket 82mounted on a shaft, and a sprocket chain 83 running over this sprocket82 and over the sprocket 80 on the shaft 8 I.

The horizontal delivery conveyor 8 is mounted to run over a sprocket 84secured to rotate with the shaft 85. This conveyor is driven from theshaft 14 by means of a sprocket 86 secured to rotate with the shaft, asprocket chain 81 running over this sprocket, and a sprocket 88 overwhich this chain 81 runs secured to rotate with the shaft 85.

The untrimmed grid 6 is shown in Fig. 6. It is provided with the usuallugs 89 which, when assembled in a battery, form the terminal post forthe battery. In casting these battery grids, a flash or fin 90 forms onthe lower edge of the grid, due to the impossibility of securingsufficlently accurate engagement of the adjacent mold sections at thebottom of the mold. In order to provide a grid casting which will engageproperly with the grid-retaining feed bar [5 and the grid-retainingdischarge bar I1, I cast on the advance edge of the grid casting a pairof positioning lugs I5 by use of the method and apparatus disclosed inmy Patent No. 2,467,246, dated April 12, 1949. These lugs are castsufficiently long so as to extend in advance of the most advancedportions of the overflow fin or flash. This enables the lugs l5 toengage the positioning bars of the trimming machine to positionaccurately the grid casting as it is being trimmed. The advance bladetrims along the line AB of Fig. 6 and the rear blade trims along theline CD of Fig. 6. As indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 6, the stop bar I! isin advance of the shearing plane of the blades II and I2 a distanceequal to the distance from the trim line A--B to the front edges of thestop lugs I5 With the grid thus trimmed, it is a simple matter to breakthe two grid sections apart by hand, the fracture taking place at thetwo points E and F which are the only points of connection of thetrimmed grid sections.

In order to facilitate the entry of the grid casting into the trimmer, atransversely-extending roller 9| may be mounted between the dischargeend of the conveyorand the entrance edge of the trimmer.

In order to lift the locating bar [1 from its grid-holding position, alifting hook 92 is provided pivotally mounted on the trimmer head l3 at93 and spring-pressed toward the bar I! by means of a coil tensionspring 94. As the trimmer head moves down, the sloping edge 95 of thehook will engage the bar I! and the hook will slide down past the loweredge of the bar and will then snap into position underneath the bar.After the trimmer head has effected its trimming operation and has movedupwardly sufiiciently to disengage the shearing blade from the gridbeing trimmed, the shoulder 96 on the hook will engage the lower edge ofthe bar 11 and lift the bar upwardly to release the grid to enable it toslide underneath the bar onto the guide I8 and conveyor 8. As theshearing head l3 continues to move upwardly, the relative paths ofmovement of the retaining bar I! and hook 92 will be such that the hookwill disengage the bar, allowing it to drop downwardly into position tointercept the advance edge of the succeeding grid delivered to the gridtrimmer.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art andit is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by thescope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. In an untrimmed battery grid casting having a fin or flash on oneedge thereof, means forming a part of said casting for engagement withstop means to position said casting with respect to a trimming blade fora trimming operation designed to remove said fin or flash along a giventrim line, said means including a pair of lugs extending outwardly ofsaid one edge beyond said fin or flash and to a predetermined distancefrom said trim line, said lugs being of sufficient crosssection towithstand a substantial impact resulting from engagement of said lugswith said stop means.

2. In an untrimmed battery grid casting having a fin or flash on oneedge thereof, means forming a part of said casting for engagement withstop means to position said casting with respect to a trimming blade fora trimming operation designed to remove said fin or flash along a giventrim line, said means including a pair of lugs extending outwardly ofsaid one edge, adjacent the ends of said edge, beyond said fin or flash,and to a predetermined distance from said trim line, said lugs being ofsufiicient cross-section to withstand a substantial impact resultingfrom engagement of said lugs with said stop means.

HERBERT C. WINKEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 570,224 Madden Oct. 27, 1896612,649 Lloyd Oct. 18, 1898 1,327,234: Handler Jan. 6, 1920 2,156,379Donath May 2, 1939 2,253,280 Lormor Aug. 19, 1941 2277.234 Kerns Mar.24, 1942 2,378,221 Huntsberger June 12, 1945

